Her entry begins: Right now I’m finishing up an absolutely delicious teen novel called The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. I picked it up along with several others during a treasured visit to Powell’s Books last Thanksgiving. I love the voice in this novel—Frankie is just the kind of girl I’ve always wanted to be and that I hope my daughters will become. She’s smart, funny, clever, and not satisfied with the status quo. The story is about her secret infiltration into an Old Boy’s club at her boarding school. I started reading this book during my college reunion last weekend—and I couldn’t help but identify with Frankie’s plight as I watched a bunch of grown up fraternity alumni trek upstairs to their “secret room.” My daughters and I stayed behind looking at old composite photos where I’m listed as a “little sister.” I’m...[read on]Salter on her novels, both published this year:
My first novel (4th manuscript) is a humorous YA called My Big Nose And Other Natural Disasters. It’s about a 17-year-old girl who thinks she can solve all her problems (and hopefully snag a boyfriend) by getting a nose job. That’s the big nose part. The disaster part comes from various mishaps including a horrible day at work, inspired by one of my worst days in high school (wrecked van, destroyed wedding cake, fired after only four days on the job).My second novel (1st much-revised manuscript) is a middle-grade called Jungle Crossing. It’s the intertwining coming-of-age stories of two girls, one who reluctantly travels to Mexico with her family over summer vacation, the other an ancient Mayan royal stolen from her town and forced to make the treacherous journey back home.Visit Sydney Salter's website and blog.
Writers Read: Sydney Salter.
--Marshal Zeringue
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